1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to telecommunication technology. More particularly, through use of the procedure and system of the invention a telecommunication connection is set up in a mobile communication network by predeterminately routing the connection on the basis of call pricing data or network configuration data.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of a GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) telephone or handset or terminal device in another or foreign operator's network is commonly called roaming. With the rise of GSM as a world standard, international roaming traffic is becoming an important subject of interest and concern to mobile communication network operators.
Teleoperators typically have a multiplicity of available roaming partners in different countries. This is the case because GSM operators have signed an agreement, known as a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which provides that all member operators must establish roaming agreements with other operators. In any event, even in the absence of such roaming agreements among all operators, there will still be intensive growth in roaming traffic, placing significant strain on the resources of both the international network and those parties handling the billing tasks. In addition, the amount of data to be processed and the risks of abuse are likewise increasing, creating pressures to provide more effective routing and billing systems.
Teleoperators receive information on call charges for international calls from other teleoperators under the roaming agreement, in accordance with which teleoperators must inform other teleoperators in the event of changes in the pricing of calls subject to the roaming agreement. In this manner up to date call pricing data for the calling subscriber's home operator may be maintained.
Prior art routing call routing solutions applied in telecommunication and telephone networks are based on technical factors, such as physical route length or network load. There are currently two different methods used for the routing of GSM calls; one is so-called standard routing, and the other is optimal routing as defined in the GSM specifications.
The SOR (Support of Optimal Routing) method used in the GSM system is a property of a mobile communication network that enables calls to be routed directly to the actual location of a mobile station, or to a number indicated by a call transfer setting, without routing it via the subscriber's home Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN). An IPLMN (Interrogating PLMN) handles the call and determines possible optimization of each call in accordance with the information provided by the subscriber's home PLMN. When optimal routing is possible for subscribers in the network, the home PLMN either enables or disables optimal routing for the connection to be set up.
One drawback of the SOR method is that it only takes into account situations in which the calling and called subscribers are currently (i.e. at the time of call setup) located in the same country, or where the called subscriber is currently located in his or her home network. Moreover, the first stage of the SOR method only allows calls from one mobile station to another and call transfers or forwards from a mobile station to a wired-network telephone number. It does not however, and by way of example, allow calls from a mobile station to a subscriber in a wired telephone network. As a consequence, it has been estimated that the SOR method can be utilized to set up only a few percent of all calls. A particular problem with such prior art methods is that they do not take into account the costs incurred by the operator when calls are set up and routed via, and in the areas of, mobile switching centers of other (i.e. foreign) teleoperators.